Point Cabrillo visitor center damaged by thirty-foot wave
MENDOCINO, CA >> A 30-foot wave crested the bluffs near the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse and pummeled the west-facing doors. The Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers (PCLK) that manages and maintains the historic lighthouse and surrounding grounds received an alarm at 8:30 AM that there was motion in the building. State Parks maintenance staff were the first on scene and discovered the destroyed double doors and a visitor center with standing water, damaged displays, and goods.
Lightkeepers staff and volunteers, along with parks maintenance, lifeguards, rangers, and park police, secured the scene and began clean-up operations on Thursday. Tanya Smart, board president for PCLK, said. “Parks were amazing. They provided tools, staff, plywood, and drying fans.” Superintendent of Parks Loren Rex said they removed two wheelbarrows full of rocks and debris from the visitor center after the water was removed.
While many displays and goods were damaged, Smart said that the Pomo artifacts were not damaged, nor were the model of the Frolic or the artifacts from that 1850 shipwreck off of Point Cabrillo. The canon that was on display was moved from the force of the wave, according to Smart. She hopes that the damaged displays can be fixed as they figure out how and when to reopen the center. Another positive is that the historic Fresnel lens was not damaged and is still in operation, providing navigation assistance to mariners. She also pointed out that no one was hurt, and that’s the best news.
Smart says that it is too early to estimate the cost of the damage or if the display cases can be fixed. She expects to start a fundraising effort, which she hopes will cover the cost of the cleanup and replacement items. In the interim, the salvageable materials have been removed to a dry location for cleaning and assessment. More information and updates can be found at pointcabrillo.org.
State Parks closed Point Cabrillo due to the large waves and did not have a date when they expected to reopen. According to Rex, coastal parks suffered erosion, and the bluffs themselves could be compromised by an undercut. Until they have had time to examine all of them, he says caution is needed to protect the public. Those who want to see the ocean should not enter closed areas and should stay on designated trails or view the water from parking lots. Lifeguards are patrolling the coast and advising the curious to stay away from the water for their own safety. Camping at most parks is closed. Westport Union State Beach is currently open as it is at a high elevation and does not have trees. Rex said that old-growth redwoods were lost at Hendy Woods and Montgomery Woods. Downed trees trapped some visitors and had to be removed for them to exit local parks. He had flooding at Van Damme, Navarro, Laguna Point, Lake Cleone, and Mill Creek. Salt Point and Armstrong Woods also had significant tree damage.